The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Uzbekistan players arrive

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Friday, Apr 22, 2005

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Sport - Tennis

Uzbekistan players arrive

Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI: Ten days ahead of the Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against India, two members of the Uzbekistan team — Murad Inoyatov and Denis Istomin — arrived here on Thursday in order to acclimatise with the conditions.

Both the players consider Prakash Amritraj, India's trump card, as a dangerous opponent. "We will study his game and try our best to beat him. He plays good volleys," says Inoyatov.

The other two players and captain Vadim Kutsenko will arrive here on Saturday.

The match will be played at Jai Club in Jaipur from April 29 to May 1. The winner of the tie will qualify for the World Group play-offs in September.

"Grass is a crucial factor as we never played on this surface. However, heat is not a problem for me," says Inoyatov.

Inoyatov, who plays doubles with Istomin on the ITF Futures tour, said playing on grass would be a new experience for him. "I will be playing on the grass for the first time. But I still believe we have an outside chance against India," Inoyatov said.

Having represented his country in four rubbers after making his debut in 2003, Inoyatov holds 2-4 win-loss record. Ranked 759 in the ATP singles rankings and 513 in the doubles ranking, Inoyatov said their confidence stems from Istomin's good record against Harsh Mankad, India's second singles player.

Istomin had defeated Mankad twice — in Chennai and at the DLTA Courts here — in the ITF Futures events.

"We have a little chance in doubles as both Mahesh (Bhupathi) and Leander (Paes) are a formidable combination, but still we are hoping for the best," Inoyatov said.

Uzbekistan team: Farruh Dustov, Denis Istomin, Murad Inoyatov, Akmal Sharipov. Vadim Kutsenko (capt.). Petr Lebed (coach), Valerya Efimov (fitness coach).

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